One of the most powerful forces reshaping the cultural, marketing, and technology landscape is collaboration. Whether it’s citizens uniting around world to demand an end to political injustices, consumers rallying around causes they care about to demand greater social responsibility from brands, or people connecting their ideas to make new products possible through crowdsourcing platforms, the connective tissue facilitated by the web, social media, and smart phones is allowing us to co-author our future.

At the heart of all these trends is a timeless truth: It’s the emotional connection between people that motivates them to take action. No amount of technology will get people to do things unless they care about the result. It’s this alignment of shared values and a common purpose that gives meaning to social technologies and their promise for remaking our world.

This week sees the launch of a groundbreaking expression of the power of collaboration to shine a light on Autism Awareness month. In this new PSA, Band-Aid, Campbell’s Soup and AT&T each produce 15-second product ads that subtly combine into one PSA about the importance of early diagnosis of autism. In each ad we see the same family from the Autism Speaks spot engaged in different commonplace scenes as the years pass. The ads appear like standalone product commercials for large brands and that’s the point. Early diagnosis can lead to a normal family life, much like the kind seen in ordinary commercials for big brands, but it requires the early detection of signs.

Not only is this a fresh and creative approach to a PSA, but also it leverages the familiarity, reach, and power of household brands to dramatically scale awareness of its message. In so doing, the brands also raised awareness of their individual core values, reinforcing consumer goodwill and loyalty. That’s why it’s a powerful example of self-interest, shared values, and social impact combined to the benefit of all parties.

For more information of the early detection of autism click here.